Saturday, April 27, 2013

Draft update 4/27: Detroit selected Martin in the fifth round of the draft. He joins punter Blake Clingan on the Lions' roster.

Among the punters eligible for this year's NFL draft, or signing as an undrafted free agent thereafter, is Appalachian State's Sam Martin. He ranks in or near the top ten in several of the various draft rankings.Excerpts from Martin's profile page on the Mountaineers' website:2012 Senior Season

FCS National Punter of the Year (CFPA)

selected First Team SoCon All-Conference punter

Nov
12 SoCon Special Teams Player of the Week: perfect 4-for-4
on field goal attempts and averaged 50.5 yards on four punts as
Appalachian State topped Furman 33-28 to earn a share of the Southern
Conference championship

Oct
15 SoCon Special Teams Player of the Week: in Appalachian State's 28-25
come-from-behind win at No. 25 Samford, Martin averaged 48.9 yards per
punt on seven attempts. He placed two punts inside the Samford 20-yard
line and booted a 60-yarder in the first quarter. Martin also handled
the kickoff chores for the Mountaineers and placed four of his five
kickoffs in the Samford end zone and forced two touchbacks.

Sept
2 SoCon Special Teams Player of the Week: at East Carolina, averaged 45.2 yards per
punt on six attempts and only allowed one return. Placed two punts inside the ECU 20-yard line and had a long of
53 yards. Also handled the kickoff duties for the Mountaineers
and averaged 61.7 yards per kickoff with two touchbacks.

2011 Junior Season

Earned second-team all-Southern Conference accolades

finished fourth in the
SoCon and 27th nationally in punting average

in the season-opening loss at Virginia
Tech, averaged 45 yards over eight punts, including two kicks of 50
yards or more and two downed inside the 20 … named SoCon Special Teams
Player of the Week

punted
just once in the home opener against North Carolina A&T but it was a
69-yard bomb, good for his longest of the season and a tie for
eighth-longest in school history … also booted a 51-yard field goal,
good for a tie for the seventh-longest in program history, in the win
over N.C. A&T

versus Savannah State, punting five times for a
47.0-yard average with two fair catches, two kicks of 50 yards or more
and three downed inside the 20 yard line … was also perfect on two
field-goal attempts, including his second 51-yarder in as many weeks …
was named national and conference Special Teams Player of the Week for
the performance against SSU

2010 Sophomore Season

31 of his 60 punts were fair caught (51.7
percent), 19 were downed inside the opponent’s 20 yard line (31.7
percent) and only nine were able to be returned at all (15 percent)

had seven punts of 50 yards or longer ... downed at
least one punt inside the 20 yard line in 11-of-13 games

was twice
named the SoCon Special Teams Player of the Week — after downing 3-of-7
punts inside the 20 yard line in a win at Samford and after averaging
43.7 yards per kick with four fair catches and two downed inside the 20
in a win over Furman

handled kickoffs for the first four
games of the year and averaged 65.5 yards per kick (with the ball being
received on average at the opponent’s four yard line)

named to the Southern Conference all-freshman
team by the league’s coaches

helped ASU compile a net
punting average of 35.5 yards, good for 19th nationally

17 of his 52
punts had to be fair-caught (32.7 percent) and 19-of-52 pinned the
opponent inside its 20 yard line (36.5 percent)

recorded his first-career
50-yarder in style by booming a 74-yarder in the waning seconds of
come-from-behind victory at Wofford ... 74-yarder is tied for the
fourth-longest punt in school history and longest since Nate McKinney
also launched a 74-yarder at Wofford in 2003

"My best piece of advice would be ALWAYS stay positive and be confident
in what you do. When I first started punting, like any kicker/punter, I
would have bad days, weeks, or even a month of a slump. It is real
easy to get down on yourself and have a negative attitude towards
kicking, and the sport in general. I have learned, the best way to
overcome a bad day/or slump in general, is to stay positive. Keep
working hard, analyze and fine tune your technique and always remain
confident. Stay positive and always believe in yourself and your
capabilities."